Paint it Black
by such a dreamer
Summary: (Eriol x Tomoyo) Tomoyo has seen everything in black and white since Sakura and Syaoran got together. What happens when Eriol injects a little color in her life? Love it? Hate it? Tell me!


Paint it Black

- - -

__

I see a red door and I want it painted black,

No colors anymore, I want them to turn black,

I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes,

I have to turn my head until my darkness goes…

- - -

Daidouji Tomoyo sat on her very white couch and looked around her apartment in distaste. She wrapped her hands around her mug of very black coffee tighter, and sighed heavily. She felt herself sink deeper into her couch…and wanted it to just swallow her up.

Everything in her classy, up scale apartment was either black or white. The entire flooring was covered in a thick white carpet, with the exception of the kitchen, which was down in the same color of tile. All of her furnishings in the kitchen were black, whether they were made of wood, plastic or metal. 

In the living room, the coffee table was black, and all of the furniture was white as well as the curtains. There were a few accent pillows on the couch that were a light caramel colored brown and a darker chocolate brown. In one corner of the room facing the window was her pride and joy. A large lacquered grand piano gleamed in the sun…and she often found herself sitting on the accompanying bench, pressing aimlessly at the keys and humming to herself.

Her bedroom was very much the same story. A large black framed bed with white satin coverings and very plain white furniture. The adjacent bathroom was exactly the same, same color scheme, or lack thereof.

There was one more room in her apartment, which (of course) looked the same as all the others. She had no use for this room, and she often wondered what she should do with it. The same thought lingered into her head while Tomoyo sipped her hot coffee. She had thought about it, but was never sure if she should go through with it. 

She silently got up from the couch, and went to her spare room. She looked very thoughtful as she looked into it – there was a large window on the wall across from the door, and an adjoining bathroom as well. 

Walking over to the window, she swept the light curtains away, and looked out onto the city below. Everything she saw was black and white. Allowing herself to daydream a little, she thought back to when she had started this, and was unable to answer herself off of the top of her head. She paused, her coffee mug in mid-air, and thought about it. 

She supposed that it had _really_ started when Syaoran had come to Japan from Hong Kong. Up until then, everything had been so vibrant and colorful because Sakura had been hers, and hers only. When Syaoran came along, things had started to lose their color little by little, until Tomoyo was left with two colors: Black and White.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, she scolded herself, because Syaoran was the best boyfriend Sakura could have ever had, and they would most likely end up spending the rest of their lives together anyway. This did little to comfort Tomoyo, though, because she was lonely, and had been for a long time.

Taking a last glance at her vacant room, she closed the door behind her and looked towards the clock on the wall. She sighed, as she realized that she was to meet Sakura, Syaoran and Eriol in half an hour at the park for lunch. She quickly combed her hair and put it in a simple bun at the nape of her neck. Throwing on a cream colored sweater over her undershirt, she smoothed down her black pants, grabbed her purse and was out the door.

- - -

__

I see a line of cars and they are painted black,

With flowers and my love both never to come back,

I see people turn their heads and quickly look away,

Like a new baby born it just happens every day…

- - - 

"Tomoyo-chan!' Sakura squealed, as she saw her dark haired friend come into sight. "You're early!"

"So are you." Tomoyo replied, allowing herself to be hugged by Sakura and then by Syaoran. "What's this world coming to?"

They laughed, and sat down at the small round table the other two had reserved. Syaoran asked her, "What's new Tomoyo?"

She thought of the rather large detail that was nagging at the back of her brain, and decided to tell them what had been on her mind. She wasn't quite sure how this would go over, as it wasn't something she would usually be into. "Well, I'm thinking of putting an ad in the paper – for a roommate."

Sakura and Syaoran were silent, until Sakura spluttered, "You? You want a roommate?"

"Yeah, I mean, I have the entire spare bedroom with no use…and you never know, I might find a life long friend because of this. We don't see each other very often anymore, and I was thinking that this might be a way for me to branch out."

After a moment's hesitation, Sakura leaned her elbows on the table, and said softly, "Maybe it is, Tomoyo-chan."

The fact that Sakura had just readily agreed with her, almost made Tomoyo burst into tears. Half of her had wanted Sakura to flat out tell her, "No," and "We'll make plans to see each other more often – no need to branch out," but that hadn't happened.

They were all quiet as they ordered a pot of Earl Grey Tea, but their silence was soon interrupted as they spotted Eriol running towards them, looking quite out of breath.

"Sorry I'm late!" He exclaimed, as he reached them. Tomoyo quickly moved over so that he could sit down. "Nakuru just threw a huge fit – it seems as though she wants to back to London for a few of months. Apparently she has 'business' to attend to."

"What?" Syaoran asked, definitely baffled. "Are you going with her?"

"No – she didn't want me to come. I told her that she could go, then, and she was glad, because she had a plane ticket for a flight that leaves in," Eriol paused, and checked his watch, "half an hour."

"Wow." Sakura said, "That's kind of crazy, even for Nakuru."

Everyone laughed as Eriol went on, "Yes, but she has to be back in exactly six months. You should see Spinel, he's absolutely overjoyed. He deserves a break from Nakuru, though, even if it is for only six months."

Tomoyo laughed, and Eriol allowed himself a sip of his tea. "I can't possibly stay in the mansion by myself, though. It's much too large for only one human and a guardian. I suppose I'll be looking for a smaller home, maybe an apartment while Nakuru is gone."

Sakura looked pointedly at Tomoyo, as if opportunity was definitely knocking. "That's so ironic, Eriol-kun, because Tomoyo-chan was just saying how she was looking for a roommate, before you got here."

Tomoyo looked at her friend seated beside her, and stuttered, "Oh, Eriol, I – I wasn't sure, I was just throwing it out there…but…"

Seeing how Eriol had taken sudden interest in his tea, and Sakura and Syaoran were looking at her as if they were telepathically persuading her to take him in, she mentally made a quick list of the pros and cons, and figured there weren't too many cons. 

Eriol was a really nice guy, and he was tidy. This was a huge detail, as she didn't want someone to go and leave their dishes all around the apartment and not clean up after themselves. As for Spinel, he was cute, and small – and read all the time, so he wouldn't be too hard to please. Surely she would rather share an apartment with a long time friend, than a complete stranger?

After thinking for a moment, she looked at Eriol, and said slowly, "Actually, Eriol-kun, I think I would like for you and Spinel to move in with me."

"Really?" He asked, widening his eyes and grinning, "That's great Tomoyo-chan."

"Sure, you can start to move in whenever you like." 

- - -

__

I look inside myself and see my heart is black,

I see my red door and it's heading into black,

Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts,

It's not easy facing up when your whole world is black…

- - -

"I like it." He stated, as he took in the interior of the apartment. Actually, he found all of the black and white a little overwhelming, but Tomoyo didn't seem to notice. He shrugged his shoulders, and gave himself a bit of a shake – he was on a mission. "Where's my room?"

"Just down the hall." Tomoyo replied, and led him to the spacious room. "It isn't much, but you can do whatever you like to it."

"Well, it is awfully white." He said, smiling a little. 

"Yes." She agreed, with a bit of a downcast gaze. 

"Can I paint the walls?" He asked, wanting to see her reaction. 

"I suppose you can, if you like." Tomoyo said, as though even the thought of it was crazy. 

He grinned and looked around. 

"Do you need any help unpacking at all, Eriol-kun?" Tomoyo asked, putting her hands behind her back. "You've got a lot of boxes to unpack."

"I'll be okay, thanks, Tomoyo-chan." He said, smiling a little in her direction. "Why don't you go to do something else for now – and I'll make dinner tonight."

She cocked her head, and seemed to be thinking about it. "Okay, Eriol-kun."

And with that, he gently ushered her out of the room, with Spinel floating along beside her, and closed the door behind her. 

Tomoyo decided that all she wanted to do was go to her room and have a bath – and for once relax a little. 

- - -

__

I wanna see it painted painted, painted black, oh baby,

I wanna see it painted painted, painted black, oh baby…

- - -

Tomoyo lay in her bed, and thought about the last two months. She was unable to sleep, because she had this gnawing in the back of her mind, like she was supposed to remember something important.

Living with Eriol had taken its toll on Tomoyo, maybe not physically – but emotionally and mentally. She found herself leaning towards him, wanting to know everything about him, but she told herself that she didn't need that right now…and it hurt.

She didn't need another repeat of Sakura-chan, especially when Eriol had Mizuki-sensei waiting for him or at least she thought. She didn't really know much about his past, at least not in detail, and she felt that he was a bit sensitive about it – so she never brought it up.

One thing that Tomoyo was not used to were the injections of color that Eriol brought into the apartment. 

She walked into the kitchen one day, fresh from work, feeling quite exhausted.

Eriol was cooking there, with an apron thrown on top of his dark gray shirt and white pants. He smiled at her, when she was caught looking intently at three bowls on the counter top.

"I went shopping after work." He explained, taking out a wooden spoon. "You don't mind, do you?"

She shook her head, without speaking, as she gazed still at the counter top.

The bowls were crystal clear, but they were each filled with different fruit. In the first, at least a dozen bold yellow lemons and in the second shining green apples. The third was filled with juicy oranges that made her mouth water. 

Another time, she had just come back from having a shower to find a delicious smell filling up the apartment, but also a large bouquet of flowers on the coffee table.

There were around two dozen of them – deep crimson colored roses, with crisp green stems. The contrast of the sudden colors in front of her black and white apartment was so enormous it made her stop dead in her tracks.

"Do you like them?" Eriol asked, as he watched her from the kitchen with a smile on his face. "I hope they aren't too much for you – that they completely floored you, I mean."

"I love them…" Tomoyo said slowly, and walking right passed her friend, she went into the kitchen to retrieve a vase. "They're beautiful."

As she came back to present, she also realized that Eriol's eyes were becoming more and more blue, each time she looked into them. At first she thought that they were plainly gray, but upon closer inspection, she found that they were a beautiful shade of sapphire – bluer than she had ever seen on anyone else.

- - -

__

No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue,

I could not foresee this thing happening to you,

If I look hard enough into the setting sun,

My love will laugh with me before the morning comes…

- - -

"Eriol-kun?" She called, as she walked into a seemingly empty apartment. "I bought Chinese Food! That's Spinel's favorite, isn't it?"

"In here, Tomoyo-chan!" A muffled voice was heard through his bedroom door. "Put the food in the kitchen, and come here a minute, will you?"

She did as he complied, and gently knocked on his door before walking in. A split second later, her jaw promptly dropped.

Eriol stood looking right back at her, a roller in hand, and royal blue paint splattered across his clothing. As if this was the most normal thing in the world, he asked innocently, "What?"

"What are you doing?" She exclaimed, almost wanting to laugh. "This is insane!"

"It isn't insane," He argued cheerfully, "it's fun, and that is why you should try it."

Two entire walls were already done in the blue paint, and he handed her a roller casually. "Want to help?"

With that, he turned his back to her, and began rolling at the walls again. 

A bit puzzled, she asked, "Couldn't you do this with your magic, instead of doing it manually?"

"I could," Eriol agreed, "but then you wouldn't get the point."

"What's the point?" Tomoyo asked, sliding between him and the wall, and stopping him from painting any further. "What are you trying to prove?"

"Tomoyo-chan, for the past two and a half months, I've been trying to subtly pull you out of this black and white hell hole." He grinned a little, and she noticed for the first time how close they were. "All in all, I figured that this would be the best way to do it."

She looked around the room, and for some reason, she was drawn to the color – and she found that she rather liked it. 

"Ever since Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun, you've been doing this to yourself, and I for one, am not going to let you." He said, with a determined tone.

She looked at him thoughtfully, as everything suddenly dawned on her. "Nakuru isn't really in London, is she?" 

He grinned. "She is, but not for six months. She is due back tomorrow evening."

"So – did she have 'business' to attend to, or did you send her?"

"I sent her to pack everything up in our mansion back there, and sell the house. She is bringing everything back here." He said. "I'm living here permanently. I've already shipped over all the files and paperwork for my company from London."

"So you'll be leaving for your mansion again, soon." She said, not entirely sure why she wasn't incredibly angry for being lied to. Maybe it was because she had needed a change in her lifestyle for so long, and someone had finally helped her with it.

"Yes, but I was hoping that you would come with me." Eriol said, moving a little closer to her. She gasped, as her eyes widened, and stumbled into the wall, getting her clothes covered in wet blue paint.

"What about Mizuki-san?" She asked, her heart rate a little quicker than it was a moment before.

"Kaho?" He questioned innocently, and smiled at her. "Only you, Tomoyo-chan, only you."

Looking into his very blue eyes, and then around the very blue room, she was struck with a whole bunch of colors from the past two months. When she had loved Sakura-chan, all of the colors in the world were kind of a jumbled mess, all blended together. With Eriol-kun, he made colors stand out, as if he wanted her to examine each and every object, shape and color…because it had some sort of meaning. 

"O-oh." She stuttered, as he slid his hands around her waist. "Well, I suppose I – I could."

"We could paint the walls of your room, if you like." He suggested, moving even closer towards her. "You never know, it could be fun."

He kissed down her neck and collarbone, as she felt her face flush. Wrapping her arms around his neck, and then tangling her fingers in his hair without even knowing, she said, "How about lavender?"

- - -

__

I wanna see it painted painted, painted black, oh,

Black as night, black as coal,

I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky,

Painted, painted, painted black, oh baby,

Painted painted, painted black…

- - -

Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura is not mine. The song is Vanessa Carlton's 'Paint it Black.'

Notes: I really like how this one turned out! I think it's pretty good, and if you guys would be so kind to review, it would mean a lot to me. Thanks!


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